JAMES GRIFFITHS AND HANNAH DANIELS
James Griffiths, son of Richard and Mary Griffiths, was
born July 1843 at Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorganshire, Wales. Hannah Daniels,
his wife, was born at Llanfihangel, Carmathenshire to
Daniel J. Daniels and Hannah Thomas, but three dates have been given for her
birth: 8 October 1838 (old
Samaria Ward records);
October 1837 (endowment card); and 1839 (headstone).
Since her birthplace is the name of a town and of a parish, she could have been
born on a farm in the parish. Evidently her parents had moved to the area of Merthyr Tydfil,
Glamorganshire when she heard about Mormonism.
A short time after hearing about the new religion she
applied for baptism and two dates have been given for that: February 1855 or
February 1856. When she told her parents she was going to join the Church, they
were very bitter and tried to discourage her. Later, she moved to London
and worked as a seamstress until she had earned enough money to come to America,
which she did in 1868. When she left Wales
for Zion, she brought her brother's
two small children with her. They were John Daniels, born 28 August 1857 at Merthyr
Tydfil to John Daniels and Mary Thomas,
and Mary Ann Daniels, born 22
December 1859 at Aberdare. The dates used
here are from the Samaria Ward records.
James Griffiths and his father Richard were on the same
boat as Hannah Daniels enroute to Utah.
It was there they met and were later married. They crossed the plains with
Captain Chester Loveland's train of 40 wagons pulled by mule teams. Since there
were 400 passengers, most of them had to walk the entire distance from Laramie,
Wyoming, the terminus of the railroad, to Salt
Lake City. The family of Anna Evans Jenkins came to Utah
in that same company and; strange to say, both families ended up as neighbors
in the village of Samaria,
Idaho.
After arriving in Salt
Lake 20 August 1868, James Griffiths and his father worked for
a short time on the railroad, then went to Idaho
where they filed on a homestead. In Samaria
on 24 October 1869, James
was ordained an Elder by Samuel D. Williams.
Richard Griffiths made his home with James and his wife, but his health
failed rapidly and he died in March of 1870. He was the first person to be
buried in the Samaria Cemetery.
James and Hannah Griffiths maintained a fine religious
home. They were endowed and sealed in the Endowment House 10 October 1871. Like
his father, James also had a short life in this country. He died 21 January 1876 at the age of
thirty-three and is buried in Samaria.
Hannah Griffiths, now left at a young age to face pioneer
life, had only the niece and nephew she brought from Wales
to help and comfort her in her great loneliness. She was thrifty and hard
working and never once wavered in her religious faith. She proved her sterling
worth over the years and was a success financially. She eventually built a beautiful brick home which was the third house on the right
as you entered Samaria from Malad. Her next door neighbors to the
north were Joseph and Esther Morse and north of them across the street was
the home of William and Ann Williams, brother to Samuel D. Williams. The family
of David,T. Jenkins lives on
that spot as of 1968.
Hannah Griffiths was one of the most faithful workers in
the Samaria Ward. She served for years as president of the Relief Society
following the death of Mary Deer Davis Price. No one was more highly respected
than "Auntie" Griffiths.
During the time that Professor S. M. Powell taught music in the Samaria
schools, he made his home with John Daniels and Mrs. Griffiths and said it was
like heaven on earth to live there because of her kindness and consideration.
Her nephew, John Daniels never married. Mary Ann Daniels, her niece, married
William D. Price and their five daughters considered her like a real
grandmother to them. Mrs. Griffiths died 14 April 1920.
John Daniels proved to be a very dependable person to
help his aunt all through the years, and successfully managed the farm and
cattle business which they operated together. They owned one of the first cars
to appear in the village. In his old age, his niece and her husband, Anna and Wilford Thorpe, moved to the Griffiths'
home and took care of him. He died 21
May 1937.
--Jane Price Hawkins, Great Niece
